Your Baby Can Read Program

I don't know exactly what this program is, but I'm sure it's junk. Reading is a gradual process, and the best way to inspire a love of reading is just plain old reading to your son. Get lots of books with interesting pictures and rhyming words and read to him whenever he's interested. There's actually some evidence that trying to teach your kids to read too early harms them more than helps them (their brains aren't developed enough to read the letters in the right order, making it harder for them to differentiate between b, p, d, q etc. in the future).

This company is just playing on people's fears that their kid is going to be "behind." Think of all the great books you could buy for $214! So much better to spend time (and no money!) at the local library. Really. put aside the worry about your son's reading and speaking. Just read to him.

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As an Elementary School Teacher, I would not recommend wasting your money on a program such as that one. The best thing you can do for your child is to spend time reading to him and looking at books to develop a love of reading first. Children will read when they are developmentally ready, and it is worse when you try to push them too early. Most children will not actually ready until Kindergarten, which is age appropriate.

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I am also an Usborne rep and bought the program when we offered it. I didn't push it as a product because I didn't care for it. The videos are ok, not very exciting. My children did learn the first set of 10 words on sight but that didn't impress me enough to continue with the rest of the videos (they were 2 at the time, twins). With that said if you are still interested I can probabally find you a copy from another Usborne rep for only $80. Or you could buy my used copy for $40.

I don't think that there's anything wrong with wanting to teach your child to read or communicate better - regardless of age. However, I don't think you need to spend a lot of money to get great results.

Definitely utilize the libraries (you don't have to limit yourself to just your town). Not only will there be fun books for your child, but there are usually great parenting and teaching books that you can borrow that will help you get the same results as that company but for free. Your son will probably enjoy it even more than the program because he'll be interacting with you and you can adjust the pace accordingly and change tactics to make sure your teaching style matches his learning style. Some kids learn best hands on, some kids are auditory learners and some are visual learners.

My children sound like your son. They started to really read at 2 & 3. It wasn't exactly my intention but if you keep reading to them all of the time, they just want to do it. And it's a fun thing to do together. After they learned the letters and the basic sounds they made, I made up stories to teach them phonics. Now I can't stop them and they read all of the time! Good luck ~ I applaud your desire and it's a fun way to spend time together with your son.

I have been doing some reading about reading. From what I have seen there is no evidence that teaching them to read early is at all helpful longterm and actually some evidence to the contrary. So save your money for some good books you can read to your DS. It is much better for little ones to spend their time playing than being taught academics it seems.

I just wanted to second the advice of the previous poster- and to add that the program sounds unnecessary at best, and a scam at worst. Research shows that videos and other educational media (Baby Einstein videos have been debunked) for young babies just doesn't hold a candle to plain, old fashioned reading to, interacting with, and talking to your baby.

I agree with the other posters who believe this is a total waste of money. I won't repeat their comments, but I also want to add that having a child who is "too advanced" academically can also be detrimental to that child. I'm sure most of the teachers who responded can relate that children who are too ahead of their grade level often get bored and are difficult to challenge within the regular classroom. My personal advice is to let your son develop at his own pace and not to force him to learn faster. Let him enjoy being a toddler and hearing you read, spending that time with him. THAT is what makes smart kids.

dont waste ytour money take him to the library story hour instead. Ive been teaching infant/toddlers for almost 20 years and everyone I know that has bought a similar system got taken for their money. they say it only costs 214.00 but then they hound you to buy more and they send it to you so its already there and if you dont want to keep it you have to send it back. not worth it!

I think programs like that are a farce. I think if you read to your child every day they will pick it up just as quickly. My kids are a bit older and my husband and I read to them all the time. They are doing great and are perfectly on track. Now I have even allowed them to watch reading programs on PBS that are awesome and very interactive.

Save your money and go to the library...just keep reading!!

Good luck! H. Z. (SAHM 5, 4 and 18 month old boys)

Don't waste your money. Your child will be best served by not watching tv and having as little screen time as possible; instead, read to your child, talk, tell stories, share observations, go to the library, participate in sing-a-longs, etc. Allow your child to play and be creative. These are important for development. So many parents have been duped by Baby Einstein and programs that promote these "educational" and skill learning strategies. Many early childhood educators are beginning to speak out against these programs, because they are having the opposite effect.
Take care,
C.

Of course they told you it was "a really good product" when you called. That is their job. Don't waste your money. Instead, read to your child every night before bed. Love of reading comes easier when it comes from love.

I used to work in the field of Early Childhood Education (now I am a stay at home Mom). I feel that 16 months is way too early to even think about teaching your child to read. I speak from experience with my own son. He went through day care and preschool and when he entered kindergarten he still had issues with reading. He now loves to read so much that I have to tell him to "stop reading" in order to finish his other homework. Your child will develop those skills when he is ready. Let him be a child and focus more on Mommy and son time - leave the "academics" for later years. Save your money!!
That is my opinion.
M.

I am an Usborne Books Consultant and we used to carry this program for only $79. I would not pay $214. We do not carry it anymore though.

Overall I never agreed with the idea of the program since I don't like my kids watching tv, I'd rather be reading them books. However, having watched it I will say it was well-done. There are times when you feel you must put the tv on (we all have those super cranky moments when we just need ANYTHING to keep them occupied while we make dinner or something) then this is a better way to go than cartoons. It does help with speech development for early ones as well as word recognition. I never really used it to see it go beyond that, but a lot of consultants I talked to really liked it and said their kids did learn to read.

Hi S.,
As an educator I love your interest in helping your son learn all he can. Research shows that there are two leading indicators for increasing educational success. One is reading to him. Not just now, but throughout his life with you. As he goes through school, you can continue to read chapter books that will increase his vocabulary and concepts. The second, often over-looked, avenue is conversation, especially dinner conversation. It seems that dinner conversation benefits language and cognitive development, as well as mature attention, and turn-waiting. Dinner conversations tend to be wide-ranging, with many twists and turns, with opportunities for questions, opinions, facts, and points of view. All of these prepare children's minds for increased learning.
As to kit materials, they are a waste of money and worse, time! Libraries, playgroups and later, preschool opportunities offer so much more.
Best of times with your little one!

I've seen it on ebay for half the price but honestly, you could make your own flashcards with a sharpie and some large index cards. I agree that your emphasis should be on reading to your child, as that is no doubt way more important in so many ways. You can point to the words on the page as you read to him so he will start to recognize the shapes of certain words.

I will admit that I haven't tried the program. I have seen the infomoercials for it and just felt like it was a waste of money. To me, there is nothing wrong with the tried and true methods that many parents I know used to get their own children to read. Not to mention the fact that it is much cheaper with public libraries available in most towns. Personally, I wouldn't waste any amount of money on it and would stick with taking out various books from the library as well as any I already had to read to my child. The younger you start this, the better it seems to help with their vocabulary. As a good example, my god-daughter was read to every night as part of her bed-time routine from the day she was born. She was speaking 2 to 3 word sentences when she was 1 year and 3 months old. To this day, she loves to read and will often go through 2 or 3 books a week when she is on vacation from school. She is now a very smart 16 year old and has been reading on a college level since she was 12.